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The Great War
See: Dwarven Empire and The Brotherhood =Background= Brotherhood-Aesthian War The Kingdom of Aeseth, which had been involved in skirmishes and stand-offs with The Brotherhood, declared war on them following a confrontation between Selukon and Brotherhood soldiers. The Dwarves followed their allies into the war, while Ishkaballaa'nar supported the Brotherhood. This period was known as the "Brotherhood-Aesthian War". Sides line up Following an incident within Dorwinian territory in which multiple Dorwinians were slain by Brotherhood soldiers thinking they had been ambushed, the Kingdom of Dorwinion also declared war on the Brotherhood. The Kingdom of Ishkaballaa'nar, following signing a peace with Aeseth in which they became allies, and their recently acquired vassals the Elves, also declared war on the Brotherhood after Lord Romanus III was sighted with Dwarven soldiers and was slain during a clash at the Brotherhood Capital. This was despite the still standing defensive pact with the Brotherhood. The Kingdom of Bretonnia, recently allied to the Brotherhood via a defensive pact, marched to the aid of their embattled allies. =Course of the War= Brotherhood-Aesethian War The Brotherhood-Aesethian War did not last long before being merged with the Great War, and was largely decided in a single Brotherhood-Ishkaballaa'narian offensive leading to Aesethian surrender to Ishkaballaa'narian officials. Brotherhood commandos located and neutralised the main Aesethian armoury shortly after the war began, which was followed by a general offensive by the Allied forces. Aesethian troops, ill-equipped and unprepared for the war, were routed in every engagement, and soon took to hiding in tunnels such as Vault 13. Major operations by the Brotherhood ceased when forces were re-deployed to engage Dorwinian forces, and Aeseth surrendered shortly after, singing into an alliance with Ishkaballaa'nar. Ishkaballaa'narian Conquest of the Elves The Elves, being unable to match the might of the far more numerous Kingdom of Ishkaballaa'nar, quickly capitulated to the advancing troops and signed themselves over to vassaldom. The Great War The opening salvo of the war was fired in a lightning siege of Fort Stunt by Coalition troops. During the combat, the fortress caught fire resulting in great destruction to both attackers and defenders. The sole survivor of the blaze, a Coalition soldier, claimed the day in the name of the Coalition. The Brotherhood, though, had the upper hand in the opening phases of the war, being more organised than the still-forming Coalition. Coalition forces (primarily Dorwinian with attached allies) were routed in multiple battles and the Brotherhood conducted several raids against the Coalition. The first major Coalition success was had when Remlap led a war party against the Brotherhood homeland, killing multiple Brotherhood troops for the loss of only 1 Coalition soldier, though much of the Brotherhood losses were recovered in a counter-attack. The Blocky Award Winning short-film "Mein Hilary" was created based on the aftermath. During this phase of the war, members of Ishkaballaa'nar, dissatisfied with the war, defected to the opposition: one to Bretonnia and one to the Brotherhood. Under pressures, internal and external, Aeseth fractured and collapsed. Dawnholm and Purayah was founded from the ruins, while some Aesethian citizens sought refuge with the Dwarves. Dorwinion, exhausted by war, sought and acquired a White Peace with the Brotherhood and Bretonnia. Following Dorwinian dropping out of the war, multiple members seceded from the Kingdom, joining the Dwarves or serving as mercenaries. Remlap, a Corps commander and leader of the force that snatched the only major Coalition victory at this point in the war, resigned and declared neutrality. He would later join the Brotherhood. Realising the need for greater cohesion, the Coalition united into the Empire. This proved decisive, leading to the newly formed Empire winning engagements against Brotherhood forces and capturing the Brotherhood border fort of Point Hammerfel. Brotherhood soldiers succeeded in recapturing the fortress in the closing stages of the war. =Peace= The Treaty of Aquilla, a white peace, was signed by the Empire and the Brotherhood-Bretonnian Alliance to end the war the day after Hammerfel Point fell to Brotherhood forces.